Novichok Returns and So Does Disinformation

As the nerve agent Novichok – which was used to poison ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia earlier this year – reappeared in Amesbury, not far from the original finding place in Salisbury, it has tragically taken a life and now prompted a murder inquiry. A couple was exposed in a way still unknown to law enforcement and on Sunday one of the victims passed away. Although this new turn of events was unexpected and is so far not seen by British police as a targeted attack, the subsequent flow of disinformation was less of a surprise.

We saw claims that it was all about anti-Russian hysteria, that it was a distraction from the meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin and that it was a provocation by the enemies of Russia. And much like the pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign surrounding the original Skripal poisoning, some effort was put into raising suspicion about the UK’s role in the incident. Again, Porton Down (Britain’s military research base) was mentioned as the possible perpetrator of the nerve agent incidents.

And, with the World Cup still ongoing in Russia, the pro-Kremlin disinformation machinery didn’t miss the opportunity to once again state that this was merely an attempt to disturb the event, this time ‘due to the success of it, which displeased the UK’.

Alternative Academia?

Students at a summer school hosted by renowned Uppsala University in Sweden were in for a surprise earlier this summer. Lecturing at the international course ’War and Peace Journalism in an Age of Global Instability’ was Vanessa Beeley, a British blogger referred to by the Russian and Syrian Governments as a credible source and independent journalist, in reality a well-known pro-Assad and pro-Kremlin public figure. She has eg visited Regime-held areas of Syria, often under the supervision of the Syrian Army.

According to visiting Estonian students and professors, Ms Beeley didn’t miss a beat in following some of the main narratives in pro-Kremlin disinformation. She discredited NGOs such as Human Rights Watch, claiming it to be a zionist front organization run by George Soros. She stated that the USSR and later Russia always worked for peace in the world, and that Crimea legitimately decided to be Russian. And she called the White Helmets a terrorist organization and claimed the chemical attack in Douma never happened.

We have previously written about the use of ”experts” in Russian state-owned media where Ms Beeley also appears regularly. As this incident highlights, there is also a need for academia to be watchful about the challenge of disinformation and to safeguard the integrity of academic institutions.

Novichok was produced in many other countries

Additional details: Among major producers of the toxic chemicals from the so-called “Novichok” family were the UK (70 chemicals), the US (19 chemicals) and other countries. All this information was submitted to the OPCW.

Novichok is known to be more powerful than VX and was developed in Russia in the 1970s and 1980s https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/russian-novichok-nerve-agent-linked-to-attack-on-ex-spy/3008773.article

A Russian scientist who originally helped develop the nerve agent states that other countries could have had test samples, but production was only refined in the U.S.S.R. and Russia http://www.cbrneworld.com/_uploads/download_magazines/09_summer_The_agent_fate_of_Novichok.pdf

According to the preliminary version, which was voiced by the deputy head of the British Interior Ministry Ben Wallace, the poisoning was not a purposeful attempt . Wallace also added that most likely the two victims were poisoned by traces of Novichok, which stayed in Salisbury after the attempt on Sergei and Julia Skripals.

Speaking to the House of Commons on July 5, the head of the UK Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sajid Javid, said that "the world is looking at Russia " and called on Moscow "to explain the latest poisoning" by Novichok. Further debunking by Stopfake https://www.stopfake.org/fejk-zamglavy-mvd-velikobritanii-zayavil-chto-rossiya-neprichastna-k-intsidentu-v-ejmsberi/

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

No evidence of Russia's involvement in the Salisbury attack. Only politicians were yelling about a Russian trace. Porton Down refused to confirm that they could establish the country of origin. Neither Scotland Yard nor anyone else said it was Russia.

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

The nerve agent has been identified as Novichok (which means newcomer in Russian). https://www.opcw.org/news/article/opcw-issues-report-on-technical-assistance-requested-by-the-united-kingdom/ and https://www.gov.uk/government/news/novichok-nerve-agent-use-in-salisbury-uk-government-response

Amesbury poisoning: It was UK to ruin everything for Russia before the World Cup final, maybe it was Ukraine

Additional details: The British are doing this out of spite because it is only 10 days left before the World Cup final, so they want to ruin everything for Russia, so they want to ruin everything for us.

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Or perhaps Novichok was actually made in England, and the British are spraying it around on purpose – but why would they want to do it for a second time?

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Perhaps our so-called friends from Ukraine are trying to frame Russia?Yes, this is possible because Ukrainians are also very stubborn, so there may be a third attack coming.

The UK Home Secretary has delivered a speech to the House of Commons providing an update on the Amesbury incident. "It is now time that the Russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on so that the most appropriate course of action can be taken. Let me be clear, we do not have a quarrel with the Russian people. Rather, it is the actions of the Russian government that continue to undermine our security and that of the international community". Full statement here.

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

Additional details: Amesbury poisoning: With the upcoming meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, the new Novichok incident is a very interesting coincidence, as though someone decided that we need a distraction. The poisoning might have been the result of an internal control problem at the Porton Down.

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

The nerve agent has been identified as Novichok (which means newcomer in Russian). https://www.opcw.org/news/article/opcw-issues-report-on-technical-assistance-requested-by-the-united-kingdom/ and https://www.gov.uk/government/news/novichok-nerve-agent-use-in-salisbury-uk-government-response

Euroliberal activists will soon come to Georgian families to take children from parents

Additional details: The time will come soon when Euroliberal activists will come to Georgian families to take children from parents. Bullied by Euroliberal mentors the marionette Georgian parliament started hasty adoption of yet another anti-Georgian and anti-state document.

...

Some time ago, in the West and especially in Europe, neo-liberal globalist propaganda became overwhelming and it made roots so deep in all spheres, including science, art, sport that refuting this ideology actually meant the end of any perspective in everything and everywhere and this resulted in a complete transformation of society. The repressive nature of this ideology became more acute later and the idea of mental revolution was determined at the level of consciousness of every individual, every citizen.

These changes were reflected on different states' realities. In the beginning the juvenile justice was enforced in several countries of western and central Europe. Germany, the Netherlands, UK, Sweden were the pioneer countries, where this repressive ''liberal'' vehicle entered in each family in the form of a law and stripped the parents of their exclusive right to raise a child.

...

Juvenile repressions made the crime situation in Europe more difficult. As parents are deprived of any educational work with children, crimes committed by adolescents over last years have increased significantly. This indicator increased 20-times even in law obedient Scandinavian countries. Also, there were several cases, when a parent desperate because of the threats of social workers (that they would take away children) tried to commit suicide…

We can simply say that as a result of big efforts and work Europe and the European Union managed to break conservative society. It is true that this process was dragged a bit, but finally they got what they wanted – an inert social mass without honour and memory, which has not moral and values.

As regards Georgia, it is obvious that when Euroliberal Kiladze [Chair of Foreign Relations Committee] says proudly that the aim of this change is equality among the youth we should take into consideration this Western dirt. Why? Because the aim of the West's slaves and servants in Georgia is the same – to deprive traditional Georgian families of their exclusive right to bring up their own children.

No evidence given, recurring disinformation about EU countries and children https://euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=stealing+children&disinfo_issue=&date= , https://euvsdisinfo.eu/children-in-the-disinformation-spotlight/

Crime rates have not increased in Sweden since 1975, which is the only Scandinavian country mentioned in the article. https://www.socialstyrelsen.se/Lists/Artikelkatalog/Attachments/19104/2013-5-37.pdf

Kiev is preparing an information attack on Crimea to disrupt the tourist season

Additional details: The Ukrainian government is allegedly preparing an information attack on the occupied Crimea in order to disrupt the tourist season there. This is proven by a letter from the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of temporarily occupied territories Vadim Chernysh to the head of the Ministry of Information Policy Yuri Stetsyu. In it, Chernysh suggests to Stetsyu that the holiday season on the peninsula can be disrupted with the help of media and bloggers.

The press service of the Ministry of Information Policy reported that this information is a fake. The ministry explained that the signature of the head of the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories Vadim Chernysh is counterfeit, and the document itself has a number of inconsistencies with the norms adopted in the official correspondence. Further debunking by Stopfake https://www.stopfake.org/fejk-v-kieve-gotovyat-piar-ataku-na-krym-dlya-sryva-turisticheskogo-sezona/

A disabled immigrant from the Donbas was "torn apart" for speaking in Russian

Additional details: In the village Buymer of the Trostyanets district of the Sumy region in Ukraine, local residents tore the mouth off a "disabled displaced person from Donbass" for speaking in Russian.

Recurring disinformation that it is dangerous to speak Russian in Ukraine, despite the lack of evidence. Witnesses, the police and the victim himself denied the reason for the incident as well as the severity of it. Further debunking by Stopfake https://www.stopfake.org/fejk-invalidu-pereselentsu-s-donbassa-porvali-rot-za-to-chto-razgovarival-na-russkom-yazyke/

The UK Home Secretary delivered a speech to the House of Commons providing an update on the Amesbury incident, highlighting that the UK demands answers from the Russian Government;

"It is now time that the Russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on so that the most appropriate course of action can be taken. Let me be clear, we do not have a quarrel with the Russian people. Rather, it is the actions of the Russian government that continue to undermine our security and that of the international community.

We will stand up to actions that threaten our security and the security of our partners. It is completely unacceptable for our people to be either deliberate or accidental targets. Or for our streets, our parks or our towns to be dumping grounds for poison."

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

Additional details: The national team of Ukraine in weightlifting can be removed from participation in the Olympic Games - 2020 in Tokyo because of three positive doping tests of representatives of the country.

The disinformation comes from Zvezda, the official channel of the Russian Ministry of Defence and a notorious disinformation channel. The article does note that also Russian weightlifters may be suspended. On the website of the International Federation of Weightlifting a list of athletes who were suspended from participation in competitions due to doping was published. It mentions two Ukrainian weightlifters, and it's not about the national team as a whole. http://www.iwf.net/anti-doping/sanctions/

The success of the World Cup in Russia prompted the Amesbury poisoning by UK

Additional details: The World Cup, which is being held so successfully in Russia, was too hard to swallow for London and they needed one more poisoned couple in order to hint that Moscow is to blame yet again. Of course, the infamous Porton Down laboratory found Novichok once again. However, they somewhat carelessly forgot to warn the doctors in the local hospital what to say to the press and they told the public that no traces of nerve agents had been found on the couple.

The UK Home Secretary has delivered a speech to the House of Commons providing an update on the Amesbury incident. "It is now time that the Russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on so that the most appropriate course of action can be taken. Let me be clear, we do not have a quarrel with the Russian people. Rather, it is the actions of the Russian government that continue to undermine our security and that of the international community". Full statement here.

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

This time, the media refers to the statement of the MP from the faction "Radical Party of Ukraine" Igor Mosiychuk, who claims that the EU offers Ukraine to place camps for refugees in the country in exchange for financial assistance. At the same time, Mosychuk did not provide any specific evidence, saying that the information is "reliable." Further debunking by Stopfake https://www.stopfake.org/fejk-ukraina-mozhet-poluchit-ot-evropy-finansovuyu-pomoshh-v-obmen-na-razmeshhenie-migrantov/

Berezovsky more useful to the British intelligence services dead than alive

Additional details: Berezovsky, a fugitive Russian oligarch, was once an irreconcilable enemy of Putin who rethought a lot of things by the end of his life. Berezovsky lived in the UK but wanted to come home to Russia. His fatal mistake was that he began to talk about this to other people. It is then quite understandable why a dead Berezovsky became more useful to the British intelligence services. Berezovsky knew too much about them. The oligarch was found dead in his home in England. The death of Berezovsky could have been a cover-up by the UK security services.

No evidence given. Some investigative journalists have suggested that the death of Berezovsky was ordered by the Kremlin https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/from-russia-with-blood-14-suspected-hits-on-british-soil?utm_term=.iaqp20kkV#.dmx14JRRy

Amesbury poisoning: British officials are lying in saying they have asked Russia for help

Additional details: British officials are lying in saying they have asked Russia for help. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Moscow has no information on what the compound is that caused the latest incident. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says it is all a fit-up for political reasons.

Both the European Union and the UK have previously urged Russia to start cooperating with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ investigation into the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Salisbury. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/apr/04/chemical-weapons-watchdog-meets-russian-spy-poisoning-salisbury-sergei-skripal

The truth about Russia from the mouth of a British journalist in Sweden caused hysteria among Estonian students

Additional details: A summer school at Uppsala University invited among other lecturers British journalist Vanessa Beeley, the author of the leading independent blog on the conflict in Syria. She talked about the methods of the Western media using deliberately false information, and stated that Russian journalists cover events more objectively than their Western counterparts

Beeley cited as an example the fake about chemical weapons allegedly used by the Syrian authorities in the Syrian city of Duma.

Vanessa Beeley is a well-known pro-Assad and pro-Kremlin public figure. She has eg visited Regime-held areas of Syria, often under the supervision of Syrian MPs and the Syrian Army. A piece purporting to expose the “egregious western media chemical weapon fraud in Eastern Ghouta” inadvertently details how regime officials are her only source and shepherd her around, ensuring they control what she is able to witness. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/vanessa-beeley-syria-white-helmets_uk_5ad9b6cae4b03c426dad48a9?22

In her lecture, she voiced many of the usual pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives which was highlighted and criticised later both by Swedish local media and Estonian professors and students attending the class. For example, she stated that 'The Soviet Union and its legal successor Russia have always tried to promote peace in the world', 'There was a free election over whether to join Russia in Crimea', 'There was no chemical attack in Douma this April. The attack was staged by the White Helmets' and 'Human Rights Watch is a zionost front organisation run by George Soros'. See our debunks about these pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives on our website eg here,here and here.

In September 2017, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic summarized 33 separate incidents where it had found use of chemical weapons. Since then there have been several additional suspected chemical attacks. Between March 2013 and March 2017, the Commission documented 25 incidents of chemical weapons use in the Syrian Arab Republic, of which 20 were proven to have been perpetrated by government forces and used primarily against civilians.

The UK are on place number 40 in the world ranking Press Freedom Index for 2018 https://rsf.org/en/ranking

It is not the first time that disinformation is being excused by being freedom of speech. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/propaganda-inundation/ , https://euvsdisinfo.eu/four-factors-affecting-press-freedom-in-russia/

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

Additional details: Muslim refugees in Sweden smash a statue of Jesus Christ. While this Scandinavian country is very generous to grant them asylum away from their brothers, of the same faith, who are massacred among themselves, and despite Sweden providing them with subsidies, health insurance, education and all means of a decent life, they dare insult Swedes so!

An old Facebook post has been shared internationally. The images are alleged to represent Muslim refugees in Sweden who destroy a Jesus statue. In fact, the pictures come from a protest in Santiago, Chile, in 2016.

The original images were taken by Reuters, who wrote an article about the protest the following day. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-protests/chilean-student-march-ends-with-scuffles-church-desecration-idUSKCN0YV2LH

The protest that the images come from were led by students in Chile who were dissatisfied with the government. In connection with the protest, some students took a Jesus statue from a church and destroyed it.

A spokesman for the student movement later apologized for the act, writes Reuters.urther debunking by Viralgranskaren.se https://www.metro.se/artikel/nej-bilderna-visar-inte-muslimska-flyktingar-som-krossar-en-jesus-staty

On 4 July paramedics were called twice to a flat in Amesbury not far from Salisbury. Scientists at the UK's military research lab, Porton Down, found the couple had been exposed to the same nerve agent as the Skripals, Novichok. One of the victims passed away on 9 July.

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The Disinformation Review focuses on key messages carried in the international information space, which have been identified as providing a partial, distorted or false view or interpretation and spreading key pro-Kremlin messaging. It does not necessarily imply, however, that the outlet concerned is linked to the Kremlin or pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. The Review analyses messages, not the messenger. If the message is a) false, which is determined by the facts and b) originating and/or in line with identified pro-Kremlin disinformation messaging, it is included in the product. The Review is a compilation of cases from the East Stratcom Task Force’s wide network of contributors and is therefore not considered an official EU position. Likewise, the news articles are based on the analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force, so information and opinions expressed are not considered an official EU position. Have you found a mistake? Give us your feedback below or send us an e-mail.

Disclaimer

The Disinformation Review focuses on key messages carried in the international information space, which have been identified as providing a partial, distorted or false view or interpretation and spreading key pro-Kremlin messaging. It does not necessarily imply, however, that the outlet concerned is linked to the Kremlin or pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. The Review is a compilation of cases from the East Stratcom Task Force’s wide network of contributors and is therefore not considered an official EU position. Likewise, the news articles are based on the analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force, so information and opinions expressed are not considered an official EU position.